Cass County Administrator Patrick Jordan has been placed on paid administrative leave as the county conducts an internal investigation into allegations that he used derogatory language about Muslims and LGBTQ people while on the job.
The Cass County Board of Commissioners met in a special session Friday morning and voted to remove Jordan from his duties until the investigation is complete. In a written statement, Board Chair Jereimiah Jones said the county “takes these allegations very seriously” and plans to handle them “swiftly, with fairness and with justice for all parties involved.”
Local LGBTQ+ advocate Gerik Maverick said he was alarmed when he first learned about the claims.
“There’s a level of shock at the severity,” Maverick said. “We know that this is a county where there’s some of those sentiments, but to see somebody in that position of leadership is just incredibly disappointing.”Maverick added that comments like the ones Jordan is accused of making can have serious consequences for public entities trying to serve their communities.
“Those are things that put city governments in really difficult positions… especially because it seems like there was potentially a staff member being targeted by some of the comments,” he said.He also stressed that county officials should be held to a higher standard when it comes to modeling respectful behavior in public service.
“If you’re going to have the privilege to serve your community in that kind of capacity, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard… and if you fail that standard, I think those things are disqualifying,” Maverick said.Maverick said his broader concern is that incidents like this can create space for other public officials to act similarly.
“When we see public officials willingly spewing hatred… that only encourages some of the worst among us to do the same,” he said.Jordan will remain on paid leave while the investigation continues. County officials have not said when they expect the review to be complete. WVPE was unable to reach Jordan for comment.
